Experiencing Vitality in Action
Lori and I are on a journey to find local restaurants that serve great soups. Today we discovered Toast at Five Points in Durham, run by a husband and wife team – Billy & Kelli Cotter.
From the moment we entered this downtown bistro, we could feel the vitality of the place.
As a differentiating value, Vitality means an energetic style; healthy capacity for vigorous activity; ability to survive and grow. This is a great value to embrace when you want to maintain a busy restaurant.
After 5+ years in business Billy & Kelli Cotter are clearly doing something right. Here are three things we observed that help the Cotter’s survive and grow:
- Narrow business focus – an authentic Italian sandwich shop. But don’t confuse narrow with shallow. The depth showed itself in the quality of the food and the choices available.
- Keeping costs down – low overhead through a small footprint. The kitchen area is pretty tight for 4 people to work, and the tables are very close together. But this promotes an energetic environment.
- Connecting with customers – an intimacy in customer / staff interaction (as well as online). Kelli Cotter clearly knows her regular customers, and vice versa. She was also open to my questions, even amongst a busy crowd.
The vitality of this husband & wife team is undoubtedly felt outside their restaurant walls. They are making a difference in their community.
You can read more about our experience at Toast at Leadership Couples.
Do you know a husband & wife team running a restaurant? What values define their business?
Today’s value was selected from the “Enthusiasm-Teamwork” category, based on the e-book Developing Your Differentiating Values.
